Shock absorbing mechanism



1932- w. H. MINER 1,871,420

SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANI SM Filed July 14, 1928 Z Sheets-Sheet 1 a M v 1mflJ Ifa/ EF Aug. 9, 1932'. w. H. MINER' 1,871,429

SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANISM Filed July 14, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedAug. 9, 1932 UNITED rarer WILLIAM H. MINER, F CHAZY, YORK, ASSIGNOR 'lOW, H. MINER, INCL, OF CHI- CAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIQN OF DELAWARESHOCK ABSORBING MECHANISM Application filed July 14,

This invention relates to improvements in shock absorbing mechanisms. 7'J An object of the invention is to provide a shock absorbing mechanismof high capacity especially adapted for railway draft riggings,

including relatively movable follower members, one of the followermembers having opposed side walls presenting interior abutment surfaces,a plurality of spring plates inter 10 posed between the abutmentsurfaces and arranged lengthwise of the mechanism, wedge means actuatedthrough relative movement of the follower members toward each other forforcing said spring plates against the abutment surfaces to flex thesame and yielding means reacting between one of said follower membersand the wedge means, the compression of the yielding means and theflexing of the spring plates providing re-la tively high combined springand frictional resistance, the frictional resistance being produced byslippage of the plates on each other during the flexing thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a shock absorbingmechanism of the character described, additional frictional resistance,by providing relative movement longitudinally of the mechanism betweenthe springplates and the cooperating abutment surfaces of the followermember provided with the side walls;

Another object of the invention is to provide a shock absorbingmechanism for railway draft riggings, including relatively movablefollowers, one of which is provided with spaced side walls presentinginterior abutment surfaces, two groups of spring plates interposedbetween said side walls and disposed lengthwise of the mechanism, theplates being supported by carriers, means actuated upon relativeapproach of the followers having wedging engagement with the carriers tospread the same apart and force the spring plates against the abutmentsurfaces of the follower to flex the plates, and spring meanscooperating with the wedge means and adapted to be compressed uponvrelative approach of the followers to absorb a the shocks to which themechanism is subjected, the resistance offered by the'spring 1928.Serial N0. 292,893.

means and the spring plates being augmented by the frictional resistanceproduced between the wedge faces of the wedge means and carriers.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a shock absorbingmechanism for railway draft riggings, including relatively movablefollower casings, one of the casings forming a spring cage and the othercasing being provided with interior convex. abutment surfaces on theopposite side walls thereof, two groups of spring plates interposedbetween the bearing surfaces of the casing, the plates of each groupbeing arranged lengthwise of the last named casing, two carriers inwhich the plates are mounted wedge means at opposite ends of thecarriers for forcing the same laterally apart, the wedge means at oneend of the casing being in the form of a block having a spring followersection forming a part thereof, and spring resistance means including aplural- 1ty of groups of spring plates disposed within the casingforming the spring cage, the groups'of spring plates being interposedbetween the spring follower section of the wedge block and the outer endwall of the spring cage casing.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a laminated platespring unit for shock absorbing mechanisms, including a plurality ofplate springs ofU-shape form, the legs ofone of said U-shape springsbeing interposed respectively between the legs of the two adjacentU-sha-pe springs, whereby the springs composing the unit are interlockedand the raw end edges of the same are overlapped by thecurved'connecting sections of the springs and held spaced from the wallsof the container for the spring unit to prevent damage to said wallsthrough engagement withthe raw edge portions of the spring plates.

Other and further objects of the invention will more clearly appear fromthe description and claim hereinafter following.

In the drawings, forming. a part of this specificationyFigure 1 is ahorizontal,longitudinal, sectional view through a portion of a railwaycar underframe, to the inner sides;

of which are secured front stop lugs 11-11 and rear stop lugs 1212. Theinner end portion of the shank of the coupler is designated by 13, towhich is operatively secured a hood-ed yoke 14 of well known form. Theimproved shock absorbing mechanism proper is disposed within the yokeand the yoke in turn is supported by a saddle plate 15 detachablysecured to the draft sills.

My improved shock absorbing mechanism proper comprises, broadly, a frontfollower casing A, a rear follower casing B; two carriers CC; twolaminated plate springs DD; a main spring resistance E; a plurality ofspacing members F and G; a combined spring follower and wedge member H;and a plurality of retainer bolts J.

The follower casing A is in the form of a substantially rectangularbox-like member having horizontally disposed, spaced, top and bottomwalls 1616, spaced, longitudinally disposed, vertical side walls 1717,and a transverse front end wall 18 which cooperates directly with theinner end of the coupler shank 13 and the front stop lugs 11 in themanner of theusual front follower. The top and bottom walls 16 of thecasing are provided with sets of spaced, rearwardly extending guide arms19-19 which engage within the front end of the rear follower casing B.The side walls 17 of the casing A are also provided with rearwardlyextending arms 2020, which are guided within guideways of the casing B.As most clearly shown in Figure 3, the arms 2-0 of the side walls arespaced respectively from the top and bottom arms 19 of the top andbottom walls of the casing A. The casing A forms the spring cage memberof the shock absorbing mechanism and the transverse front end wall 18thereof is provided with a transversely eX- tending, concave bearingsurface 21 'on the inner side, which cooperates with theplates of thespring resistance E.

The spring follower casing B is also in the form of a substantiallyrectangular box-like member having horizontally spaced, top and bottomwalls 22-22, longitudinally extending, spaced, vertical side walls 2323,and a transverse,vertical, rear end wall 24:, which cooperates with thestop disposed,

lugs 12 of the draft sills in the manner of the usual rear follower.

As hereinbefore pointed out, both the casings A and B are disposedwithin the yoke 14 and the rear follower casing B cooperates with theinner end of the yoke 14 during a draft action. The side walls 23 of thecasing B are provided with top and bottom openings 25 25,the fronttransverse end walls of the openings 25 forming abutment surfaces 26which cooperate with the heads of the retainer bolts J, as hereinaftermore fully pointed out. The major portions of the side walls 23, betweenthe front and rear ends thereof, are bowed inwardly, thereby providingconvex interior bearing "surfaces 2727 which are arranged longitudinallyof the mechanism and cooperate with the laminated plate springsD. Thefront end portions of the side walls 23 are interiorly cut away toprovide longitudinally extending guideways 28-28 which receive therearwardly extending arms 20 of the follower casing A. Above and belowthe guideway 28 of each side wall, longitudinally extending interiorslots 29-29 are provided which accommodate the shanks of the retainerbolts J. Between the front and rear ends, the side walls 23 are providedwith laterally inwardly extending lugs 3030 which are also slot-ted toreceive the shanks of the retainer bolts J, the slots of the lugs 30being in substantial alignment with the slots 29, but of srnaller size,so as to substantially fit the shanks of the bolts, whereby the lugsform abutment means for the heads of theretainer bolt-s. a

The retainer bolts J have the heads thereof anchored to the casing'B,the nuts at the opposite ends of the bolts being anchored to the casingA. 'The bolts J are assembled with the casings A and B by first placingthe bolts within the casing B and inserting them laterally in the slots29 with the heads of the bolts disposed rearwardly of the abutmentshoulders or surfaces 26 of the side walls.

The casing A is provided with longitudinally disposed openings 3131 atthe four corners thereof, adapted to accommodate the forward endportions of the shanks of the bolts J. The casing A is assembled withthe casing B by telescoping the arms 19 and 20 thereof within the casingA and passing the shanks of the retainer bolts through the openf-orwardends thereof, which are accommodated within openings 3232 provided atprovided with a centrally disposed, inwardly projecting wedge section33, having wedge faces 34-3 onthe opposite sides thereof which cooperatewith the rear-ends of the lngs 31 in the side walls of the casing A. Thebolts are then secured by the nuts at the carriers C-G, hereinafter morefully described.

The carriers C are disposed at opposite sides of the mechanism and areof similar design. Each carrier comprises a vertical, longitudinallydisposed, inner wall 35,1ongitudinally extending, spaced, top and bottomwalls 36-36, and front and rear spaced vertical end walls 37-37. Asshown in Figures 1 and 4;, the carriers U are so arranged that the wallsthereof are longitudinally disposed. The inner surfaces of the walls 35are curved, as shown, thereby presenting longitudinally disposed,concave bearing surfaces 3838, which cooperate with the lam-v inatedplate springs D. Each casing G is provided with a wedge face 39 at therear end thereof, which cooperates with the wedge face 34 at thecorresponding side of the wedge member 33. At the front end, each casingis also provided with a wedge face 40 on the inner side thereof, whichcooperates with the combined spring follower and wedge member H.

As most clearly illustrated in Figure 4, the carriers C are of such aheight as to have substantially free lateral movement between the topand bottom walls 22 of the casing B.

The laminated plate springs D are arranged respectively within the twocarriers C. Each laminated plate spring C comprises a plurality of platespringmembers of U- shape form, the two legs of eachspring memher beingof difierent lengths. Each laminated plate spring comprises three setsof springs, each set including two U-shaped members, the short leg ofeach U-shaped member being interposed between the legs of the othermember. As will be evident, the parts of each set of spring plates arethus interlocked and form a unit. The connecting curved portions of theU-shaped spring, plates serve to protect the front and rear walls of thecarriers from damage by the raw ends of the plates, the short leg beingdisposed within the curved portion of the cooperating U- shaped platespring and the longer leg being held in spaced relation with theadjacent end wall of the corresponding carrier O by the spring membersbeing interlocked, as hereinbefore pointed out. The outer members of thelaminated plate springs D bear directly on the convex bearing surfaces27 of the side walls of the casing B. As here inafter pointed out, theplates of the springs also have longitudinal sliding movement on thesurfaces 27, thereby providing a certain amount of frictionalresistance. The inner most members of the plate springs normally bear onflat, relatively short ledges at the opposite ends of the concavebearing surfaces 38 of the inner walls 35 of the carriers C, whichledges prevent the sharp corners of the adjacent plates from gouging orwearing into the concave bearing surfaces of the carriers.

The convex bearing surfaces of the side walls ofthe casing B and thecorresponding concave bearing surfaces ofthe carriers G form arcs ofconcentric circles, so that the laminated plate springs, 'when bowed between said convex and concave surfaces, will have fullbearing on thesame when the mechanism is fully compressed.

The main spring resistance E comprises a plurality of sets of platesprings having the spacing members F and G interposedtherebetween. Asclearly shown in Figure 1, there are five sets of springs employed inthe present insta nce, separated by four spacing members F and G. Thethree sets of plate springs disposed at the forward end of the casing Aare all similar, each comprising two U-shaped spring members which areinterlocked in the same manner as the U-shaped spring members of thelaminated plate springs D, hereinbefore described. The remaining twosets of spring plates each comprise three spring members. The springmembers of each set are of lJ-shape and the central member has the legsthereof disposed respectively between the legs of the two outer U-shapedplate members, thereby protecting the side walls of the casing A fromdamage by the raw ends of the spring plates in the same manner aspointed out in connection with the laminated springs D. As shown inFigure 1, the spacing members F are provided with convex bearingsurfaces on the front and rear sides thereof, while the spacing membersG are provided with concave bearing surfaces on the front and rearsides. The spacing members F are alternated with the spacing members G.As will be evident by the arrangement of spacing members provided, twoadjacent sets of spring plates are flexed in reverse directions, thefront set of spring plates being curved so as to conform to the concavebearing surface 21 of the end wall 18 of the casing A and the convexbearing surfaces of the adjacent spacing member F.

The next set of springs, as pointed-out, is flexed in the reversedirection by the co0pcrating convex and concave bearing surfaces of theadjacent spac ng members F and The convex bearing surface of the springfollower and the concave bearing surfaces of the next adjacent spacingmember are curved on concentric arcs, whereby when the spring plates areflexed between the same upon full compression of the mechanism thecurvature of the plates will conform to the convex and concave surfacesand the plates will have full bearing engagement with the spacing memberand spring follower.

The combined spring follower and wedge member H'comprise a relativelyheavy, rectangular, plate-like-section 41, which forms the springfollower member proper. The plate-like section 41 is provided with aconvex bearing surface on the front side thereof,

which directly engageslthe innermost set of spring plates of the springresistance E. At the-rear side, the plate 41 is provided with anenlarged section forming the wedge block proper. The enlarged section.is provided with wedge faces et2-l2 on the opposite sides thereof, whichcooperate respectively with the wedge faces 40 of the carriers 0. Thecombined spring follower and wedge member H. has top and bottomforwardly projecting arms 4343 which engage between the arms 1919 at thtop and bottom sides of the easing A, thereby guiding the combinedspring follower and wedge block H for longitudinal movement. In additionto forming guide means for the combined spring follower and wedgemember, the arms 43 also serve to house the plates of the laminatedplate spring E, which are disposed between the arms. The arms 19 and 20of the spring follower and the flanges 43 of the casing A also formsupporting and guiding means at the gap between the casings A and Bcooperating with the plate spring E. i

The mechanism is held of overall uniform length by the retainer bolts Jand the bolts are so adjusted that the main spring resistance E and thelaminated plate springs D are under initial compression in the fullrelease position of the mechanism. As will be evident, the necessarylongitudinal movement of the bolts during com ression of the mech anismis permitted by the openings 25 in the side walls of the casing B, theopenings being of such a length that the heads of the bolts will notengage the inner end walls of the same when the mechanism is fullycompressed. The heads of the bolts are embraced by the top and bottomwalls of the openings 25 and the bolts are thus held against rotationduring assembling of the mechanism and in service.

The operation of my improved shock absorbing mechanism, assuming acompression stroke, is as follows: The casings A and B will be movedinwardly relatively to each other, thereby compressing the plate springsof the main spring resistance E between the end wall 18 of the casing Aand the combined spring follower and wedge member H. Dur ing the firstpart of the compression stroke, there will be no substantial movement ofthe member H, the parts being so designed that the combined frictionalresistance and spring resistance afforded by the wedge members andlaminated plate springs D is greater than the initial resistanceafforded by the laminated plate spring E. After the laminated platespring E has been compressed to a certain extent, the member H will'beforced rearwardly, thereby wedging apart the carriers C while the springE is further compressed. Atthe same time, the carriers C will be forcedrearwardly against the wedge section of the casing A, thus causing thecarriers to be wedged apart atv their inner ends at the same time thatthe wedge of the memberI-I is active.

As the carriers are forced apart, the laminated springs D will becompressed against the convex side walls of the casing B, causing theplates of the springs to be flexed. Due to the rearward movement of thecarriers 0 during the wedging. action, the outer members of thelaminated plate springs D will be forced to slide on the bearingsurfaces 27 of the casing B, thereby providing a certain amount offrictional resistance. Frictional resistance during the compressionstroke will also be created between the wedge faces of the wedge membersand. the wedge faces of the carriers O. Inasmuch as the spring plates,during the flexing thereof, slip on each other, slightly frictionalresistance will also be had, due to the flexing of the plates. As willbe evident, the resistance offered will be greatly augmented during thelast part of the com pression stroke. The compression of the mechanismwill continue until relative movement of the casings A and B is arrestedby engagement of the inner ends of the casings. The parts are soproportioned that at the same time the casings are arrested the carrierswill bear on the end wall of the casing B, the spring follower will bearon the front ends of the carriers, and the laminated plate springs D andE will be bowed to conform to the cooperating concave and convex bearingsurfaces, and have full bearing thereon, the whole mechanism in effectgoing solid when fully compressed and acting as a solid column loadtransmitting member.

During release of the mechanism when the actuating force is reduced, thetendency of the spring plates to return to their normal straightcondition acts to restore all of the parts to the full release positionillustrated in Figure 1, the action of the laminated springs D causingthe carriers to move inwardly toward. each other, thereby forcing thecombined wedge and spring follower member forwardly with respect to theeasing B. The casing A'is forced outwardly, due to the laminated plates,of the spring resistance E returning to their normal straight condition.

It will be evident that during the compression of the mechanismalignment of the parts is assured by the arms 19 and 20 of the casing A,which are telescoped within the front end of the casing B.

From the preceding description, taken in connection with the drawings,it will be evident that I have provided an exceedingly high capacityshock absorbing mechanism of rugged construction, wherein'both springand frictional resistance is provided. The improved mechanism isespecially adapted for passenger cars having relatively light action fora considerable part of the compression stroke, during which time thespring E is actuated, followed by and blended with a heavier actionduring the last part of the compression stroke when the wedging actionand frictional resistance becomes effective, together with the action ofthe laminated springs D. A decided advantage obtained by my improvedconstruction is that the raw edges of the plate springs are held out ofengagement with the walls of the containers for the same, therebypreventing damage to the walls and adding the gear.

While I have herein shown and described what I consider the preferredmanner of carrying out my invention, the same is merely illustrative andI contemplate all changes and modifications which come within the scopeof the claim appended hereto.

I claim:

In a shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with relatively movablefollower casings, one of said casings serving as a spring cage memberand having two sets of longigreatly to the life of tudinally extendingspaced armsv telescopedwithin the other casing to guide said first namedcasing; of a laminated plate main spring resistance disposed within saidspring cage casing, said spring resistance including a plurality ofplate units; two sets of laminated plate springs disposed within theother casing and having bearing engagement with the side walls thereof;wedge means for forcing said two sets of laminated platespringslaterally apart, said wedge means including a combined springfollower and wedge block, having spaced arms embracing and supporting aunit of said main spring resistance, each of said arms of the springfollower slidably engaging between the spaced arms of one of said setsof arms.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 11th day of July, 1928.

WILLIAM H. MINER.

